Clare Balding shared the surprising way in which wife Alice Arnold proved to her mum that she was good enough, after initial suspicions
Clare Balding has revealed why her mother was apprehensive about her relationship with Alice Arnold at first, before they went on to tie the knot.
The love story between the two presenters kick-started through a mutual friend at the BBC back in 1999, when friendship swiftly turned into romance.
In due course, they solidified their relationship by entering into a civil partnership in 2006, and went on to marry following the legislation of gay rights.
In a rare candid chat alongside each other, Alice said it was clear from the start that the pair were "destined to be together for a very long time" and 20 years later, this prediction stands affirmed.
Clare, who will front coverage for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, reminisced about the initial phase of their romance when her mum wasn't entirely fond of Alice, 63, owing to her background and occupation at the time.
She shared: "My mother, I think, was a bit suspicious from early on as, A) Alice is from London," before her wife interjected: "And, wasn't a country girl."
The presenter continued: "And secondly, [she] was an actress at that time and both of those things were a little bit, 'ooh'."
Alice chimed in: "I might as well have been a prostitute. I think she was wary of me, but then we had a sort of cottage down in the countryside that we rented from Clare's uncle, and it was pouring with rain one day.
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"And, I was out in the garden in, kind of, a boiler suit digging and I think when she saw that she thought, 'Oh you're alright then, you can do digging in the garden'."
On Gyles Brandreth's Rosebud podcast, Clare recalled Alice's messy garden chore being the "turning point" in her relationship with Clare's mum.
"I think she forgave the actress thing because I was prepared to get muddy," the former BBC Radio 4 star added.
As well as initial hesitations from Clare's mother at first, the presenter disclosed on Loose Women that Alice had also put a list of reasons why they shouldn't date on their fridge.
Quizzed on the reasons by the show's panellists, Clare said there were "lots of things" on the list, but one of the main ones being that she is a presenter.
"It's OK, 20 years later I've managed to convince her," she chuckled.
Over the past few years, Channel 4 viewers have seen an insight into the pair's relationship through Celebrity Gogglebox.
In addition to this, Alice hosts Mellow Magic on weekend mornings and fronts a theatre podcast, while Clare continues her broadcasting career across various platforms and is also an author.
Today, she begins presenting coverage of the Olympics from the River Seine, where around 10,500 athletes will compete in 329 events across 32 sports over 16 days.
